River Scene 1921

Frank Benson’s "River Scene" is made up of these short little brushstrokes of greens and yellows, and it almost vibrates with light. I can imagine Benson being there, en plein air as they say, squinting at the scene, trying to capture that particular quality of light on the water, the way the trees sort of melt into the sky. It's not just about what he saw, but how he felt being there, right? The paint itself is pretty thin, which gives it this airy, luminous quality. Look at those strokes of color in the foreground – they're like these tiny, energetic marks that suggest the movement of the grass and the flow of water. And the way he layers those greens, building up the density of the trees and foliage, is really skillful. It's like he's building the scene from the ground up. Benson was clearly looking at the Impressionists, but he's doing his own thing. He's part of this long conversation that painters have been having for centuries, each adding their own voice, their own perspective.